A Pebble in a Pond

Brother-in-law Steve asks:

"What's the deal with the Eventful Demand for Jessica Mae Stover thing on your blog?"

Steve has already received the short version during a beer and grocery run, but I think a more detailed explanation may be necessary, so here it is.

Have you ever wondered why we're constantly forced to endure endless sequels and remakes at the movies rather than being offered original material that is undoubtedly out there? Why are they making King Kong instead of searching for the next Star Wars? I ask myself these questions all the time, and I'm not alone.

As I've mentioned before, I've taking to reading the blog/website of Jessica Stover. She is a actress/screenwriter/performer from Virginia but currently living in Los Angeles. She used to have a show on America On-Line (AOL) in which she would interview such celebrities as George Lucas, Samuel L. Jackson, and others. I enjoy reading her blog, and even purchased her book Aidmheil which was a collection of blog posts, poetry and short story. She has written a screenplay for a fantasy genre trilogy that requires a relatively big-budget treatment to help bring it to life. Feedback on the screenplay has been good, but Hollywood doesn't like taking chances. They'd rather make The Dukes of Hazard than take a chance on an original idea. Star Wars was an original idea. Can you imagine if Episodes IV through VI had not been made?

So, what is there to be done? The fans of Jessica Stover Dot Com (JSDC) have started a grassroots campaign via Eventful. It is a website where you can make a demand for a performer to come to your community and perform. When enough interest is generated, Eventful contacts the performer and lets them know that there is a big demand for them to go to location X. With JSDC, a demand has been made for a screening of Jessica's screenplay (codename: TSL) in various cities in an effort to show the Hollywood executives that there is a demand for this kind of project and people willing to part with their hard-earned money to see it brought to the big screen. To see the project in Jessica's own words, check out her recent entry on the subject.

Done reading it? What do you think? Pretty cool? I think so. So why don't you help us out. Click on the banner and go and make a demand for TSL to have a screening in YOUR city. Not there? Add it. Then pass it on. Tell your friends. Put a banner on your website. Email your contacts. Can you think of something else you can do? Do it. The goal is to reach 100,000 demands. It is possible. The Internet makes it possible.

This is a revolution. Aren't you interested to see if we, the viewers, can have an impact on what movies are made? Maybe someday all the screenplays received by studios will be posted on a website with a synopsis and we can choose what movies are eventually made. Maybe then, people would start going back to the theatre.

So.....are you in? Ready to help?

Blogosphere.......activate!

<a href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://eventful.com/performers/P0-001-000001900-7/demand">Demand Jessica Mae Stover in your city with eventful.com!</a>